


Beyond My Beloved Horizon

by kaybohls



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Archaeology, Bisexual Female Character, Enemies to Lovers, Enemy Lovers, Eventual Smut, Ex Sex, F/F, F/M, Force Soulmates, Historical, Oral Sex, Pirates, Power Dynamics, Reincarnation, Reylo - Freeform, Sex, Sharing a Bed, Smut, Soulmates, SwoloFic, Treasure Hunting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-07-25 00:46:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20023753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaybohls/pseuds/kaybohls
Summary: Rey Sands has spent her entire life daydreaming about setting sail on an adventure on the high seas like the characters in the stories she grew up with. Now, all grown up with a precious clue and a pain in the neck fellow archeologist in tow, she has the chance to set off on an adventure all her own to discover a priceless treasure.Kira Crawley built the world she lived in and made a family all her own with the loyal crew members on her ship,Corazon de Casa.Tenacious. Brazen. The Pirate Queen quite literally takes no prisoners. Once the Caribbean was won, there was only treasure left to find.Four people. Two Lifetimes. One Treasure.





	1. Wind and Rain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MyJediLife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/gifts).



[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/144005946@N02/48384991377/in/dateposted/)

Rey couldn’t help the smile from crawling across her freckled cheeks as she pressed her wayfarers up the bridge of her freckled nose, stepping out into the bright, Puerto Rican sunlight. She’d been waiting her whole life to set out on this adventure of a lifetime, and she was finally, _finally_ here.

She’d spent the last two years travelling back and forth from a lab to a library, her nose stuck deep in old volumes about the history of the Caribbean, and the souls who sailed on its turquoise seas. After centuries of exploration and the golden age of piracy, there were mountains of priceless artifacts just waiting to be found.

Back home in England, at Cambridge University, Rey had studied archeology after growing up watching bull-whip carrying heroes preventing dangerous weapons of mythical proportions from falling into the wrong hands. It had lit a furious fire under her and ignited the passion for history that would only grow as she did.

At night, tucked into bed at the group home she grew up in in South London, her foster mother, Maz, would read _Treasure Island_ to her. Together, with Jim Hawkins and the one-legged John Silver, Rey travelled the high seas along with them aboard the _Hispaniola_ , searching for lost treasure marked by an _X_ on the map given to Jim by Billy Bones..

There was always…something…something special about hearing that story that instantly pulled her in. She felt a camaraderie with the buccaneers within the pages, like she had known them in a dream or another life. Her curiosity about the pirate culture of the eighteenth century fascinated her more than anything, and Rey dedicated her life and her studies to the pursuit and fulfillment of that curiosity.

After graduating with honors from Cambridge, Rey found herself as a part of the faculty in the research department, willingly dedicating her time to digging for “treasure”. Scanning old ledgers and charts and reading old diaries with a gloved hand to help preserve the fragile paper became her life.

After months of research, Rey stumbled upon something…something that was thought only to be a myth passed around by generations. A lost island where the bloodthirsty pirate, Kylo Ren, hid his treasure as he painted the sea red with the fury of his revenge. Tucked beneath pages and pages of ledgers and old merchant documents, Rey found the smallest thread that turned out to be something more like the rainbow scarves up a magician’s sleeve, giving her more and more as she pulled.

Not only had he been real, but he had been the son of a Lord who’d left his home, and his responsibilities, behind to sail the high seas under a pirate flag. With each new leaf she turned over, Rey discovered more…his ship, his crew…and even about the woman he loved: The Pirate Queen, Kira Crawley.

From what Rey could find, he had gotten his start with her, and sailed under her command for some time before all evidence of Kira dropped off the map completely.

Spurred on by what she had found so far, Rey reached out to the Smithsonian in Washington, praying that one of the faculty there would be able to help her find out more about this supposed pirate queen.

She’d been less than thrilled by their response…or at least by who delivered the information she needed. To say that Doctor Solo had been short with her would be an understatement, always acting with a sliver…no, a _bucket_ of arrogance that made Rey fume.

“Bloody, Americans. Think they know everything.”

Months had gone by, and the pair of them traded information back and forth through emails, scanned documents, and photographs. Rey and Dr. Solo pieced together a picture of Captain Ren over time, and eventually…a lost treasure that the captain had been searching for with his lady love.

More time went by and they couldn’t find anything of the treasure, and Rey’s patience was nearly at an end. Stuck in a lab for months with her hunger for knowledge unsatisfied, Rey needed to do something….she needed to get out and be on an adventure instead of reading about someone else’s.

Her heart ached to find this treasure and see what secrets of the past it could unlock if she did…what would she learn if she did find it?

Then one day, a message came from Dr. Solo that had such great news that she could have reached through the screen to kiss him.

 _I think I found something._

Her eyes lit up on the screen as the image slowly uploaded, and her heart nearly stopped when the entire picture was revealed.

A letter from Kira to Kylo, talking about a key and a chest hidden away on the island of Montserrat, deep in the Caribbean…and the mention of a map that would lead them to the greatest treasure that the world has ever known.

Three more months of research and gathering of details to present to the archeology department’s board to practically beg for a grant and permission to go, and Rey finally found herself stepping out the door of a 747 into the tropical, salty sea air.

The warm tropical wind kissed her face as she stepped down the stairs, and the humidity prickled at her skin. Rey sucked in a quick breath, desperate to do what she could to calm her nerves. This was it. This was everything she had been waiting for.

A quick wait in line to get her passport stamped with red and blue ink with her entry date, and Rey strode back out into the bright, Puerto Rican sunshine. Easily hailing a taxi, she piled her bags into the trunk and couldn’t help the spread of her happy grin as she told him in effortless Spanish,  
“Club Nautico de San Juan, por favor.”

Rey settled back into her seat and popped her headphones into her ears, happily watching their car whiz through the colorful lines of traffic as they drove across the city. The city had a music all its own, an intoxicating blend of salsa coming from the radio, the sporadic honking of the cars all around them, and the wind rushing in through her open window. They all blended together into a seamless, colorful symphony of sound that was absolute magic to Rey’s ears.

Rey felt like the song Puerto Rico was singing to her had barely just begun when her driver pulled into a gravel parking lot and came to a stop at the end of a long, wooden dock.

“Estamos aqui senorita.”

“Muchas gracias por conducirme. Ten un día maravilloso.”

Rey grinned at her driver, handing over a generous amount over her fare as she thanked him and wished him well. She waved him off with another smile as she pulled her bags from the trunk and looked down the dock with a breathless sense of anticipation.

As part of her grant, Rey had chartered a small vessel to carry her from island to island as she conducted her research, and she couldn’t wait to get on board and well under way.

Her footfalls echoed under the wood to the water below, mixing together with the subtle sloshing of the water against the bellies of the boats she walked by, looking from ship to ship until her eyes found the name that she was looking for.

_Escrito en las Estrellas_

The ship itself was nothing really to write home about, with a white hull and a small cabin, it was clearly a ship meant for work…not for play. Rey beamed up at it anyways, as the simple boat was what would take her on her discovery of the world’s greatest treasure.

“Written in the Stars…how fortuitous.” Rey smiled, lifting her bag from the dock as she stepped on board. She looked around the wide, open deck and felt her heart skip a beat when her gaze landed on the back of a man leaning on the rail with his back turned towards her.

_That must be the captain._

He was taller than she thought, thinking back to when she had video-chatted with Diego prior to her booking the vessel. Waves of dark hair bent and shifted in the wind, brushing the collar of the black tee shirt that seemed to struggle against the long spans of hard, corded muscle in his shoulders.

Rey stepped towards him and nervously cleared her throat.

“Disculpe señor, estoy buscando al capitán.”

“You’ll have to pick a different language, Sweetheart, my Spanish is a little rusty,” the man’s voice rang out against the wind, a low rumble that sounded more like it should be ushering the billowing clouds of a thunderstorm instead of the lingering sunshine. As he turned to face her, Rey swore that a whale swam beneath the ship, sending the entire vessel lurching to the side and Rey off her feet.

The bright blue Puerto Rican sky went off its axis, and Rey went head over feet, coming to a sudden stop when something impossibly warm and strong caught her around the waist. When her eyes met a pair of dark eyes steeped in amber and filled with concern, Rey felt her breath catch in her throat. There was something…something unique about them that pulled her in and made her want to swim in them like a warm, summer sea.

His dark hair hung around his face like a curtain with bits of light shining through the spaces, softly illuminating his face like a halo. Rey instantly felt drawn to him, like she knew him somehow. She couldn’t help it when her fingers reached up to brush against the map of beauty marks that kissed the fair skin of his face, wishing that she could connect them like the constellations in the night sky.

His dark brows bent together as he looked down at her with a serious, but curious expression as Rey’s fingers lingered on his cheek. He regarded her seriously for a moment before his lips melted into the ghost of a smile.

“Y-you’re not Diego….” Rey breathed, trailing her fingers down the line of his bicep, still comfortably entrapped in his arms where she had landed after quite literally being swept off her feet.

“Last time I checked, no,” the absurdly handsome stranger smiled from above her. Rey felt the subtle squeeze of his long fingers in the curve of her waist as he slowly lifted her and set her back on her feet. His hands lingered on her hips to hold her steady as the ship’s yaw went back to normal, “I’m Ben Solo.”

“That’s not possible,” Rey laughed, stepping back from his quizzical gaze, “ _Doctor_ Ben Solo? That man belongs in the museum he works for, I’m sure of it.”

“Well, last I checked my birth certificate…driver’s license…passport…Doctor Ben Solo is me.”

Rey took another step backwards and quickly found herself up against the railing. She curled her fingers around it, holding onto it for dear life as she tried to steady her reeling thoughts from the whirlwind she’d just got herself caught up in.

“No.”

“Sorry to disappoint, sweetheart. I am me. And you are?”

“That’s not possible. You shouldn’t be here. I chartered this boat for _my_ expedition. I wasn’t expecting to share…”

“ _Your expedition?_ Lady, I think you’ve got your wires crossed. I chartered this ship. I’ve got a key to find.”

“To a chest?”

“How did you…”

“Rey Sands, _pleasure_ to finally meet you in person, _Doctor Solo_. I was certain you’d be…”

_Less good looking?_

“…older. You know, with the whole doctorate in Archaeology and all that. Usually, the good loo… _young_ ones are restricted to adventure films.”

“Think what you want, Cupcake. I’m here for one thing, and one thing only.”

“To get off and go while you still can?”

“To find some treasure, that’s what.”

Rey scoffed loudly and crossed her arms over her chest, lifting an eyebrow as she glared at him.

“See, I always thought people with doctorates were supposed to be smart, but I think you’re the one who’s confused. You see, I’m the one who chartered this ship with _my_ grant. So feel free to jump overboard at anytime now, mate.”

Ben took a solid step forward to close the space between them, drawing a quick breath from Rey’s lips. He was so close that she wasn’t quite sure if it was the Puerto Rican heat, or the warmth radiating from his sculpted chest that made the skin beneath her thin tank prickle with a delicious frisson of goosebumps. If he expected her to get flustered from his closeness, Rey thought that he was dead wrong…mostly. Her returning stare was unrelenting and equally as stubborn as Ben looked down at her, as if she was merely something amusing instead of an equal and colleague.

“You’d be surprised what people are willing to do if you pay the right price,” Ben growled, his long face hovering just close enough that Rey could see even the fairest of freckles that kissed his skin.

“Why don’t we test that theory?” Rey crooned, lifting a single finger to trace a line down his chest, just to test the theory that it was as firm as it appeared to be…for science. Taking in a slow breath when she pulled her gaze back up to meet his, Rey saw the flicker of a crooked smile pull at the corner of his mouth, like he knew that the muscle she found there was just as unyielding as she suspected, “How about…I take the notes you’ve already shared with me…go on this expedition, _alone_ , and I will mention you in the footnote of the paper I’m going to write on my discovery?”

Ben let out the strangest sound, somewhere between a laugh and a growl of frustration as he dipped his head down to hover against the tender flesh of her ear.

“How about we settle this right now, Princess?”

Rey pulled away to look up and meet his scorching gaze, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth when the heat in his eyes made a fire curl up deep in her belly. She cleared her throat while leisurely sliding her tongue across her lip, like a parched woman in the desert who desperately needed her thirst to be quenched…

“W…what did you have in mind, Doctor Solo?”

“I’d like to show you…” Ben stepped closer, and Rey’s breath hitched in her throat when his strong arm curled around her narrow waist. Before she knew what was happening, Ben yanked her against his chest and lifted her from her feet. A girlish squeal echoed out into the clear marina air as he threw her over his shoulder and proceeded to dump her over the railing and onto the dock. The crooked grin on his face grew ever wider as she stared up at him, gobsmacked - and flat on her ass. Lifting a long finger, his face melted into a frown with just a hint of facetiousness remaining in his amber eyes, “Now, _stay_.”

Rey hopped to her feet and jumped back onto the boat, causing it to wobble to and fro from the sudden rush of movement when Ben had transplanted her from the deck to the dock. She charged towards him, waves of silent fury bubbling up with each step she took towards him and his smug smile.

“Are you kidding me? I didn’t spend all my life dreaming of this…all this fucking time researching and come all this way to be kept away by a bloody arsehole!”

Ben’s smile only grew, and he looked down at her with his thick arms crossed across his broad chest. Did he have to look so good while being such a massive dick? Rey tried to force down the thoughts and focus on her fury and a solution to get him off the ship…gorgeous or not.

“You know,” Ben mused with a boyish chuckle that only incensed her further, “You’re kinda cute when you’re mad…”

Every time he opened his smart mouth, Rey was flooded with a baffling mixture of emotions. Her body reacted instantaneously to the sound of his baritone voice that sounded like thunder rolling over the horizon during a summer storm, but her head was still holding onto his words - and his audacity to try and remove her from the ship. It definitely had everything to do with that - and nothing at all to do with the fact that Rey couldn’t get over the feeling of his massive hands curled around the backs of her thighs as he effortlessly threw her over his shoulder, just a hair’s breadth from where she’d like his hands to be.

No. NO.

This was her expedition, and there was no way in hell that she was going to allow some asshole Yank to buy his way on and ruin it for her.

Rey balled her fists at her sides and took a steadying breath to quell her anger and…other things as she took a solid step forward. Ben’s arms remained firmly crossed over his chest as she came towards him, the same, crooked grin plastered on his face, a grin that melted away as Rey’s palms came into contact with the firm planes of muscle and pushed.

His face bent into a comical oh of surprise as his towering frame went ass over teacup and into the water with a loud splash.

Rey clapped her palms together in victory, calling over the railing with a sly smile,  
“Now _STAY_ , you overgrown tosser!”

“Ms. Sands?” A man’s voice, like warm honey, rang out from the crew cabin, making Rey jump and make a quick about-face away from the railing - like a small child who’d been caught red-handed with her fingers in the biscuit jar.

“Hi, yes, that’s me! Are you Diego?” She stepped towards the man, giving him one of her signature radiant smiles as she extended her palm to meet his. He was handsome, slender, and just a couple inches taller than Rey, with a curtain of dark hair that hung just past his ears and the ghost of a beard that lined his square jaw.

“Diego Sueños, nice to meet you at last, Ms. Sands,” he smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and a shake.

“Rey, please. We’re going to be together for a while, might as well be on a first name basis, right?”

“Rey it is,” Diego nodded before looking over her shoulder to see the second set of bags sitting on deck, “I had two passengers on my manifest. Did you see Doctor Solo? He arrived here shortly before you did.”

Rey gave him a look of feigned shock and confusion, clearing her throat loudly to help camouflage the cacophony of splashes coming from the water below.

“Doctor Who? Nope…I haven’t seen him. Are you sure your little sheet there is right?” Rey pressed, coughing loudly when a voice rang out with a loud, _“Man overboard!”_ over her answer to the good captain.

Diego quickly jumped into action, throwing down a rope ladder over the railing and lending a hand to pull a soaking wet Ben out of the water. Just when Rey thought she’d got the better of him, her eyes lifted to meet his scorching gaze, and she suddenly found it much, _much_ harder to breathe.

If she had thought that perhaps he may have been built before, Rey _knew_ it now as he pulled his legs over the rail, pulling himself to his full height. Every inch of sopping wet fabric clung to him like a second, muscled skin. It hugged every single twining cord of muscle and accentuated every minuscule movement he made.

Rey instantly felt a rosy flush rise in her cheeks as she tried not to gape openly under the dark look he gave her, while he reached up to slowly slick his dark hair back over his head, sending a sheet of water crashing down to the wooden deck. She let out a tiny gasp when their eyes met and he pressed his impossibly plush lips together into a thin line, working his jaw back and forth in a way that made Rey squirm. Her lips parted and the baby hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as his dark eyes danced up and down her body, and the corner of his mouth curled up into the ghost of a smile. It happened so quickly, Rey wasn’t quite sure if it was all a figment of her imagination - until he strode past her in long, loping strides and brushed the tips of his fingers against hers.

Frozen to the spot, Rey blinked rapidly like she had a bucket of ice water thrown on her head when she heard Ben gruffly say to Diego,  
“Nice seeing you again, Captain. Now, let’s get the hell out of here.”

Still dazed, Rey followed the men into the cabin, ducking her head through the narrow doorway as they stepped down into the cozy space. The walls were covered in a warm wood paneling, and a pair of narrow sofas lined each side of the narrow space. Tucked into the far corner was an impossibly small galley with a two-burner stove and a tiny refrigerator.

“The ship sleeps about five. There’s a double bed below along with my bunk and these two fold out, so decide on the sleeping arrangements between yourselves. We’ve got a long way to go, so make yourselves comfortable and we’ll get under way while the weather is still favorable.”

Rey met Ben’s burning gaze for a split second as Diego ducked out of the cabin and into the pilot house, and found herself caught up in the warm swirls of caramel tucked into the deep brown as they both stared at the other, waiting for someone to speak.

“You take the big one. No really, I don’t mind. Honestly, it’s okay,” the pair of them mumbled, almost in perfect unison. Rey let out an exasperated sigh and threw up her hands.

“We can flip a coin, mate. I…I, uh….” Rey swallowed thickly as her eyes drifted down his torso - where his plaid button down still clung to every line of his washboard abs, “I’m just gonna get some air…is it hot in here, or is it just me?”

“Just you,” Ben drawled, lifting his long fingers to fiddle with the buttons on his dripping wet shirt. At the first glimpse of his alabaster skin and the faint trail of hair just below his navel, Rey let out a squeak and turned around so quickly she nearly toppled over again.

Back in the gleaming, tropical sunshine, Rey let the ocean air kiss her face and flutter the lost strands of baby hair around her face. It brought such sweet relief to the heated flush in her cheeks. Striding along the deck, Rey ran the tips of her fingers over the wooden railing, closing her eyes as the mournful cries of the seagulls were carried on the wind. She’d never been on a boat before, let alone one as large as the ocean trawler she was on now, and somehow, it felt like home.

Lifting her growing smile to the sky, Rey felt the boards beneath her feet vibrate with the deep rumble of the engines below deck growling to life. Her heart fluttered with a sense of childlike anticipation as the water past the stern began to froth and bubble as Diego engaged the engines and pushed them forward, away from the dock.

They set a south eastern course out into the wild blue of the Atlantic. As the _Escrito en las Estrellas_ sailed away from the shores of San Juan, Rey tried to soak in every moment as the salty sea air rushed through her hair. The glimmering flecks of radiant sunlight reflected off the surface of the water and kissed her freckled flesh as the boat gained speed and bounded over the wake of other larger ships.

The ship sliced over the surface of the water, sending it in frothing sheets beneath, faster and faster, until San Juan began to shrink into the horizon at their backs. As the blinding white vessel gained speed, she practically danced over the surface of the sea, hurtling Rey towards this lifelong dream that was just on the cusp of coming true. They had been merely seeds of curiosity that blossomed into passion as she grew.

Rey didn’t know what the future held for her, but there was something…a little voice in her head, a feeling in her bones, a premonition…she didn’t know what to call it, but it was there. This sense of anticipation that the journey to find this treasure – whether it be silver, gold, or some priceless artifact – would change her life in ways that she couldn’t yet fathom.

Rey curled her fingers over the railing, closing her eyes against the delicious sting of the wind, breathing in the salty sea air and centering herself in the unexplainable comfort it brought to her. From the moment she’d stepped foot off the plane in San Juan, she’d felt like her body was electrified, and Rey was practically breathless with the anticipation of what was to come between her and what was beyond that beloved horizon.

Night fell, bringing with it the glorious technicolor that painted the darkening sky. Vivid blues and scorching oranges lit the horizon up in a fiery blaze, illuminating the growing cloud formations at their stern. Rey lifted her eyes to the sky, watching the gulls ride the change in the wind – flashes of white against the blazing sky – as the water beneath the hull took on a darker hue.

Rey tucked herself into the main cabin, stretching out across the narrow sofa and closing her eyes as she let the feeling of the waves carry her away into a jetlag-fueled sleep.

A loud boom shook her from her rest, sending her to her feet in an instant. Rey blinked rapidly in the darkness, silently willing her eyes to adjust to it. They came into focus for only a moment, connecting with the faint green glow of a digital clock before the ship lurched and Rey was sent flying from her feet back onto her bunk.

Swearing under her breath, Rey frantically searched in the pitch black for a switch to flip on the overhead light. She breathed a sigh of relief when her fingers brushed it and flipped it on. Temporarily blinded, Rey’s stomach dropped as the ship violently pitched once more and a brilliant fork of lighting tore across the darkened sky.

Another boom rang out, rattling the ship and adding to the cacophony of groans and creaks as the waves carried them precariously over each peak. Rey’s eyes widened as she looked out to the sea, lit just enough by the faint glow coming from where she sat.

The clouds that had gathered smothered any ounce of moonlight, and the wind pushed against the ship, wailing loudly as the gale pummeled the sea, and them along with it. This was certainly, most definitely, not how she thought this day was going to go.

A sound from below drew Rey’s attention away from the churning sea outside the window. Rey pulled herself to her feet, pressing her hands against any surface she could as she battled the endless changes of the pitch and yaw. As she descended the stairs, it was suddenly, painfully clear that the mournful moans and groans weren’t just from the ship…but from one Doctor Solo.

Rey ducked her head into the narrow door frame of the head, narrowly sidestepping the long legs and feet that stuck out - simultaneously stretching into the tiny shower and the narrow hallway. Rey hesitated as she instinctively reached out to brush her fingertips against his back as he hugged the toilet, groaning with each time the boat rolled from side to side.

“Are you okay, Doctor Solo?”

“Do I fucking look like I’m okay?” He groaned loudly, his low voice muffled from his perch inside the bowl.

“Having some trouble finding your sea legs, eh? I bet you’re wishing you would have stayed on dry land like I told you to…” Rey mused.

Ben started to offer a smartass retort, but quickly went back to retching anything that was left in his stomach as the ship gave a heavy lurch once more. He lifted his head with another moan and laid it across the seat, closing his dark eyes against the constant motion. His brow shone with sweat, and the curtain of his dark hair hung haphazardly in his face.

For a moment, Rey’s heart lurched as she looked down upon him, forgetting his comments from earlier and focusing on the feeling of wanting to help the poor old sod, instead. She reached down and lifted his heavy arm around her shoulders, curling her hand around his middle to help hoist the mountain of a man from the floor of the laughably tiny loo.

“Come on, big guy…” Rey chuckled to herself as Ben’s face contorted into a mournful pout that seemed more appropriate coming from a ten-year-old than a man with a doctorate in archaeology, “Let’s get you fixed up.”

“S’okay…you really don’t have to…” he mumbled as they zigged and zagged down the narrow passage to the compartment he’d been sleeping in.

“It’s for selfish reasons, really. I can’t sleep with all your bellyaching.”

Rey tried to keep her focus on the double bed in the room ahead of them instead of the sensation of his body pressed against hers, and the feeling of the muscle beneath her fingertips and how she ached to explore further beneath the thin shirt that separated flesh from flesh.

They stumbled together into the room, and Rey was grateful for the dim light and the cushion of the bed as Ben slipped from her grip as the rocking of the ship sent his heavy body wobbling to the mattress…and Rey along with him.

“Christ,” Rey whispered, as she found herself unsuspectingly tangled up in his long limbs with the blankets, and the world around them continued to viciously seesaw. With her palms pressed against the wide expanse of hard muscle, she swallowed thickly as she pressed against him to bring herself back to her feet.

Ducking into the head for a moment, Rey pulled a washcloth from an overhead cupboard and ran it under cold water from the faucet.

Rey wandered back down the passageway to Ben’s cabin, finding it much easier to make it there without his added weight to slow her down. In the mere seconds she had been gone, he had curled up into an adorably pathetic ball on the bed, letting out a deep groan with every change to the pitch of the ship.

Rey sidled up beside him and nudged one of his long legs out of the way to sit down on the mattress beside him. It bent beneath her as she reached out with the washcloth to brush it against his temple. A smile pulled at her lips as he leaned into her touch, his dark eyes still crammed closed against the stormy waters.

As his face began to relax a little, Rey whispered into the dark to urge him to make room for her on the bed,  
“Scoot over, I want to try something.”

Ben groaned in reply, shifting his large body to the side like she asked.

“I’ll let you do whatever you want to me if you can make this seasickness go away…”

Rey rolled her eyes.

“Be quiet and give me your hands.”

Rey reached out and closed her fingers around his wrists, gingerly turning his hand over to rest in her palms. What an odd feeling, to be so close to this man who was technically a stranger, and yet the feeling of her fingers in line with his felt as easy as breathing. The warmth of his skin sent a frisson of goosebumps shooting up her arms as she silently marveled at the sheer size of his hands.

Reaching over the insides of his wrists with her thumbs, Rey pressed firmly into his skin and waited. She kept her eyes locked onto his face - still contorted into a grimace - until, almost all at once, his face relaxed.

“Ahh, there it is. Feel better?”

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but please…don’t stop.”

In the center of the storm that swirled around them, Rey felt like she was in the eye of it here with him. She watched the steady rise and fall of his chest as the firm pressure she exerted inside his wrists helped to ease his discomfort. With each passing second, the coiled tension inside him dissipated, instantly showing on his long face.

Rey found herself entrapped by it, caught in a daze as her eyes watched his plush lips part with each breath that fell past them, and the lines between his brows soften as his seasickness melted away. She was helplessly pulled in, effortlessly finding her breathing aligned with his as she waited for him to drift off.

Once she was convinced that Ben had slipped into a comfortable sleep, Rey lifted her hand from around his wrist and splayed her fingers out against his chest. She let out a soft sigh, silently soaking up the warmth that he radiated and the feeling of the beating of his heart beneath her fingertips.

Sliding her feet to the floor, Rey pushed herself to stand, letting her hand linger - to be the very last thing to leave the bed. As she started to pull away, Rey felt Ben’s long fingers clamp around her wrist and the deep baritone of his voice call out to her.

“Stay. Don’t leave me alone. _Please_.”

Rey’s heart lurched in her chest, and she felt a lump instantly form in her throat. His words were like a direct line to the lonely little girl of her childhood who longed for a family of her own. She sank her hand back down against his chest and sank down to lay beside him, lifting her free hand to brush a ribbon of his dark hair from his eyes,  
“You’re not alone.”

Rey reached between them and curled her fingers around his wrists again, pressing her thumbs to the pressure points once more, settling herself into a more comfortable position beside him.

Whatever feeling that should have told her that laying in bed with a perfect stranger was wrong never said a word. Rey didn’t see the harm, it’s not like they were…close. And if they were going to be stuck on this voyage together, then they may as well make the best of an awkward situation. If that meant helping ease his seasickness so he was a more pleasant person in the morning, then so be it.

As she laid there, parallel on the bed next to her colleague, Rey’s eyes grew heavy as the sound of Ben’s steady breathing mingled with the constant listing of the ship. Mixed together with the muffled rumble of thunder, and the wailing of the squall that danced in the sky above them, it acted as an otherworldly lullaby, and Rey quickly found herself falling like you’d fall in love. Slowly, at first, and then all at once, closing her eyes to give in to the darkness and the cloud of comfort she felt herself wrapped in.

Rey pressed her eyes closed in the early morning light that streamed in through the portholes, letting out a contented hum as she silently willed the sun to dip back below the horizon and allow her a moment more of peace and restful sleep.

In the fading darkness that remained, Rey felt safe and warm, wrapped up in a little slice of heaven. She shifted her arm, stretching out her fingers into the thicket of dark curls they had been deliciously tangled in, and smiled sleepily to herself as she nuzzled the warm flesh beneath her nose.

As she inhaled, the sweet smell of him washed over her - an intoxicating blend of spices, smoke, and earth – only making her smile grow as she snuggled closer to further mold their bodies together.

“Mmm, good morning,” a voice mumbled sleepily, the sound of it rumbling deep in the chest she found herself pressed up against, echoing out like the memory of the thunder from the night before.

Rey drew in a sharp intake of breath as her eyes flew open. She blinked rapidly in the delicate beams of bright, morning light that illuminated the space above them. Bits of dust danced along the luminous columns, lending an ethereal glow to the tiny cabin as Rey tried to get her bearings.

Ensconced in a tangled mass of limbs, Rey eyes were instantly drawn to the well-defined collarbone she had been tucked up against. One arm was slung over the long line of his chest, and the other was tucked beneath his head and knotted in a nest of silken, dark curls. Heavy arms were curled around her, delightfully hugging every curve while his long fingers traced slow circles against the bare flesh of her arm.

At any other time, it would have been a divine place to wake up…wrapped up in this glorious daydream in the arms of an absurdly handsome man…but as Rey’s eyes adjusted to the light, she quickly discovered that she wasn’t home in London. She was on board the _Escrito en las Estrellas_ , and the man in question was Ben Solo.

Rey held her breath as Ben groggily shifted against her, running her tongue over her bottom lip when he pulled her closer against his chest. She didn’t dare speak or move with every inch of her skin set aflame, growing hotter and hotter as the seconds ticked by. Was it merely the heat radiating off him that caused the heat to bloom in her cheeks?

It most certainly had nothing to do with the fact that she was tangled up in bed with this stranger, at a time in her life when she was positively touch-starved from spending all her time in a library, and hungry – no, ravenous - for the feeling of being close to someone.

Rey felt the need to move, to do something to ease the tingle down her limbs as they begged to be released from the heavy confines of Ben’s arms and legs, that she was wrapped around like vines on a tree. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady as she silently took stock of each one. Her right arm was tucked beneath his shoulder, his left was curled around her back and lingered over her ribs. Rey’s other arm felt a little too at home, slung over his waist beneath his right that had snaked around hers, and together, they’d formed this oddly auspicious version of infinity with their bodies while they had been sleeping.

Rey counted their limbs once more in her mind…and then one more for good measure. Their arms were all accounted for and she swore that her knees and ankles were just as intertwined with him as her arms, but the firm… _something_ was pressed up against her belly button.

Rey sucked in a silent whoosh of air and crammed her eyes shut as Ben shifted against her again, pressing the mystery appendage more snugly against her.

_Holy mother of Christ. Don’t move. Don’t think. Don’t breathe. This doesn’t mean anything. It’s his physiology…that’s all. Nothing else._

Ben let out a sleepy groan, slowly pulling his arms free from their firm grip around Rey as he rolled to his back. She wanted to think about the sudden loss of his warmth as he pulled away, but her mind stayed on the sensation of…. _him_ pressed up against… _her_.

“Shit…” Ben’s voice hissed into the tiny cabin, “Perfect fucking time for this, Solo.”

Rey kept her eyes closed to the morning light and any potential embarrassment for them both, hoping that Ben was thoroughly convinced she was asleep. She kept her breathing low and as even-keeled as the ship was finally, unmoving as the mattress shifted. Her heart thudded away like a hammer in her chest, and she prayed it wouldn’t give her away as she counted the seconds for the cabin door to shut.

With the click of the latch, Rey’s eyes flew open, and she rolled to her back with a deep sigh and tried to sort through the muddled thoughts that rushed through her mind.

Ben Solo. Her. Wound together like a sailor’s knot and just as difficult to untie. Reaching up, Rey snagged a stray ribbon of her chestnut hair and twisted it absentmindedly around her finger as she went through the catalog labeled “Doctor Ben Solo” in her mind.

They had worked together on digging up evidence of Captain Ren and his lost treasure for months, trading emails and carefully wrapped packages back and forth. It was because of him that they had the letter from the famed Pirate Queen to the notorious captain that held mention of the key and chest that Rey prayed would lead them to the island where he’d hidden his plunder.

Rey had never actually spoken to him or seen his face in the time they’d been colleagues…reluctantly strung together across an ocean as they searched for the same thing. She couldn’t put her finger on why on earth she thought he would be old…let alone the tall, strikingly good-looking man who she, quite literally, fell head over heels for.

Their first impression went…well, for the most part, when Ben had so chivalrously and unexpectedly come to her rescue and saved her from the embarrassment of landing flat on her face at his feet. Instead, she crossed that line all on her own when her bloody imagination ran away with her and quickly found herself captivated by him like a butterfly caught in a net.

Then she just had to go and open her big mouth…and then he with his own. Their relationship would probably have gotten off on a better foot if they had gone entirely without talking for the entire voyage. Rey didn’t know what it was, but with every word he said, she felt strangely pulled to verbally spar with him, like it was some sort of game to play. The fact that it had ended with his wide palms hugging the curve of her ass, and her hands pressed against his chest as they both found different – and creative – ways to get the other overboard was merely a cherry on top of an absurdly confounding sundae.

Rey pulled herself from the outdated bedspread and stretched out her legs to rid her limbs of any ounce of tiredness that remained. As she bent her hand behind her shoulder, she was delightfully surprised that any sign of an ache from sleeping in one position for too long was absent. Any prickle of stiffness or tenderness in her joints was nonexistent, and Rey found herself amazingly well-rested, considering the night they’d had while the _Escrito en las Estrellas_ was repeatedly and brutally hammered by the wind and the rain.

Somehow, throughout the storm, Rey and this man…this man who she felt herself inexplicably drawn to, had held onto each other like a tether in the dark - a tether that held the other steady as the world around them unleashed its violent fury- a safe haven and sanctuary against the mighty gale.

Rey swung her legs to the side of the bed, bending her head to avoid the low hanging ceiling. For a moment, she wondered to herself how in Maker’s name was Ben able to stand up in the tiny cabin, never mind how he was able to sneak away just a moment without hitting his head on the impeccably low ceiling. She couldn’t help the chuckle that fell past her lips as she conjured the image in her mind – all wild hair, long limbs, and long… _other things_ … practically bending himself in half as he tried to pull away from the bed without waking her.

…not that she wasn’t already secretly awake to be witness to the glorious amount of morning wood he presented her with.

A soft knock at the door startled her, pulling her away in an instant from the amusing and simultaneously befuddling image she had created in her mind.

“Y-yes?”

Her voice came out halfway between a whisper and a croak, sending a fresh wave of pink to bloom beneath the freckles on her face. Grimacing, Rey mouthed silently to herself to chill out _just a little_. He was just a man. No one special, instinctual cuddling be damned.

“I…I hope I didn’t wake you…”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine. It’s all good…how are you?”

“I, uh…yeah…good, great. That’s swell.”

_Swell? Christ, maybe he’s older than he looks._

After a beat of silence that hung heavily on the door that separated them, Rey heard Ben clear his throat.

“The, uh…just wanted to let you know the shower is free.”

“Oh,” Rey murmured, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth as she floundered for what to say next.

_Oh hey, thanks. Let’s pretend that last night ever happened. Good. Great. The end._

A simple thank you was all she could manage.

After waiting for the sound of the heavy footfalls of Ben climbing above deck, Rey pressed her feet to the thin carpeting and padded the short distance to the door. With a careful turn of the latch, Rey pried the door open on its hinges, lifting her eyes up the narrow staircase to the main cabin above her. When the quiet murmur of voices filtered down to her ears and Rey was certain that she was alone below deck, she slipped out of Ben’s cabin and into the head.

The bathroom was probably the smallest one she’d ever laid eyes on, with all the niceties crammed into one minuscule space. A small sink sat in the right corner of the dollhouse-sized room, tucked up against the loo that was simultaneously crammed up against the open shower.

Rey pulled her toiletries from where she’d tucked them away in the compartment beneath the sink, and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of what she assumed was Ben’s aftershave coming from the travel bag that was sitting on the shelf beside hers.

She slipped off her clothes, leaving them in a heap on the floor, and stepped into the icy cold water that sprung from the faucet as she turned the tarnished dial. Letting out a gasp as the water trickled down the smooth contours of her back and darkened her chestnut hair, she prayed that the shock of it would help draw the images and sensations of being pressed against Ben during the night from her mind. It was more hopeless than she imagined it would be as the images showed up, as vivid as a photograph in high definition flitting through her mind like a slideshow each time her eyes fell closed as she washed the previous day from her body.

Banishing them was still no use as she slipped on a pair of tattered old jean shorts, a simple white tank, and her favorite flowy green cardigan. After sliding a comb through her hair and apply a fresh swipe of her favorite lip balm, Rey decided that she couldn’t hide below deck all day…there was an adventure to be had, and she would be damned if an unexpected cuddle and an equally as alarming bit of a boner kept her from experiencing every second of it.

Curling her fingers over the wooden railing, Rey climbed the narrow staircase and lifted her free hand to shield her hazel eyes from the bright beams of sunlight that shone in through the windows that surrounded her.

Gone was the storm that pummeled them through the night, and instead, the sea glittered with sheets of the most brilliant light that filled her heart with an overwhelming warmth from the inside out.

“Ah, good morning, Senorita! I see you survived the bit of weather we encountered! I take it you found something to hold on to and keep you steady?”

Rey pressed her lips together with a slight smile as her eyes focused on the bright, morning light, taking in the grin of their captain, Diego.

“I…yeah. I guess you could say something like that…” Rey mumbled, letting her eyes shift for only a moment to see Ben sitting in the corner at the laughably narrow dining table.

She looked around the space and found her eyes instantly pulled away from the man in the corner to the vast array of breakfast food that covered nearly every inch of the tiny galley. Everything from sliced fruit, to bacon and eggs, sausage, and toast was spread out for her to pick and choose from. It was a feast by anyone’s standards, but especially Rey’s.

“Diego, wow! This is…this is too much…where did this all come from?” Rey gaped as she plucked a bit of papaya from a plate and popped it into her mouth. She couldn’t help the small moan that escaped her as she started to chew and the sweetness of the fruit exploded over her taste buds, “Thank you so much!”

“It wasn’t me,” Diego shrugged as he placed a cap on his coffee cup and stepped out of her way, “Thank him.”

Rey followed the captain’s gaze as he looked past her shoulder to where Ben was sitting in the corner behind her. Diego’s eyes twinkled as he gave her a small nod and smile before turning around to climb the stairs to the pilot house.

She slowly turned her attention back to the magnificent breakfast buffet that Ben had made… _for her_ …offering a soft smile to him before busying herself with loading up a plate to the brim with everything he’d cooked.

With her plate weighed down with all the fixings, Rey turned on her heel to make the short journey across the main cabin to the table and instantly collided with Ben’s broad chest. He reacted quickly as she balked with a gasp, caging his long fingers around her waist to keep her breakfast from flying all over the galley.

“Christ, I need to put a bell on you.”

A bashful smile broke across Ben’s long face as he slowly peeled his fingers from her sides, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he let out a boyish chuckle.

“Yeah…I’ve heard that one before…”

“You have?” Rey pressed, meeting his lopsided grin with her own, skeptical one.

“No. I don’t know why I said that.”

Ben looked down at his feet with a laugh and a shake of his dark hair. When he looked up at her again, the galley suddenly seemed so much smaller, and the little space between them was blindingly clear. Ben’s face hovered only inches from hers, and his dark eyes burned with unsaid words - and Rey felt an unexplainable pull to be closer…a want for more that begged for her to answer its call.

Had it been anyone else, Rey would have dropped her gaze and looked at anything but the golden flecks of amber that were woven into the darkness of his eyes. They pulled her in closer, and Ben stepped forward and kept his eyes locked on hers.

“Rey.”

The sound of her name on his plush lips made her mouth go dry, and Rey thought right then that she could listen to him read the dictionary if that meant getting to experience the delicious, dulcet baritone over and over again. She was practically breathless as she looked up through her lashes at him, caging her bottom lip between her teeth once more before whispering into the space between them,  
“Yes, Doctor Solo?”

The corner of his mouth turned upwards and he let out a deep, throaty chuckle that shook his shoulders as he reached towards her. Rey’s heart hammered behind her ribs as the good doctor came closer and closer until his plush mouth hovered next to her ear.

“Mind if I get by? You’re standing in front of the coffee.”

Rey instantly felt the flush rise in her cheeks, and she averted her gaze from him just as quickly, ducking past him with her plate while murmuring a slew of mortified apologies. She slid onto the bench at the table and quickly went to work, devouring her breakfast piece by piece.

Ben sat down across from her, fresh cup of coffee in hand and the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. Rey looked from the crispy bacon that was trapped between her fingers and him, thinking of something to say as she chewed the salty goodness.

“Thank you for breakfast. You’ve cooked the bacon so perfectly…nearly burnt…it’s my favorite. How could you know that?”

Ben offered her a shrug of his wide shoulders and reached across the table to steal a piece from her plate.

“I didn’t. I just cooked it my favorite way…guess that’s something we have in common, huh?”

“Must be…” Rey mused, digging further into her breakfast.

“So…” Ben hummed, looking down into the mug of black coffee tucked into his large hands, “Diego says if the weather stays fair, we should make it the day after tomorrow. I, uh…I’m naturally looking forward to being on dry land again. Thanks…uh, thank you for helping me last night.”

“It was no trouble, really,” Rey hummed as she poked at her eggs with her fork, “So, how much do you know about the good captain and his supposed treasure?”

Ben shrugged as he took a sip of the steaming liquid.

“The basics, but no details other than what was in the letter. Kira Crawley…I’d like to know more about her. What kind of woman would she have been for a man to become the scourge of the sea?”

“A pirate queen, is what,” Rey nodded.

“I didn’t know that pirates had queens.”

“That’s because she made it up. At least…I’m pretty sure she did.”

“Big fan?”

Rey smiled as she picked at the cubes of papaya.

“She was ahead of her time. Commanded ships and made men cower at her feet…except for Ren. They were…equals. Different sides of the same coin. Their love was…something special. So special, that when something happened to her, there was no corner of the Caribbean that didn’t know his wrath,” Rey let out a deep sigh as she looked out the window over the never-ending blue line of the horizon stretched out before them in the morning light, “Can you imagine loving someone that much?”

Rey’s gaze shifted to meet Ben’s for a moment, and felt herself helplessly trapped by them yet again. His dark eyes burned into hers as he pressed his plush lips into a line, working his jaw back and forth while the moment lingered between them.

“I don’t know if I could.”


	2. Lock and Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Captain on deck!” Mitaka called out as Kylo strode to the railing and tugged a spyglass from his belt.
> 
> “What colors does she fly?” Kylo pressed as he extended the looking glass to its full length.
> 
> “She does’na have any, sir.”
> 
> Kylo pressed his mouth into a firm line of frustration as he lifted the brass tool to his eye and focused on the ship that was gaining on them with each passing moment. Instant recognition washed over him like a dip in icy waters as his gaze traveled over the gleaming, golden figurehead and the matching railings that instantly caught the beams of sunlight and sent them shimmering into the heavens. The telltale color of the ship, a rare blue that matched the pristine waters of the most beautiful cays, was instantly recognizable to any sailor. Any man with sense would heave-to and weigh anchor as soon as she appeared on the horizon. Better to give up then fight a losing battle to the death.
> 
> But Kylo wasn’t really a man of much sense as far as a certain captain in these waters was concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MyJediLife....my beta....MY QUEEN. I would be lost like a windless ship on the ocean without you.

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/144005946@N02/48478219481/in/dateposted/)

Kylo Ren tapped on the thick glass of his brass compass, urging the red needle inside to show him what he wanted to see...an easy course to the island of Montserrat. He had been locked away in his quarters for the better part of the day, pouring over the meticulously hand-painted charts with his tools as he tried to plot the best way to what he had been told was the location of a chest…a chest that held the map to the greatest treasure man had ever known.

_The Silencer_ had been the peril of the waters for the last three years, and while Captain Ren had accumulated more than his fair share of loot during that time, his mind was never far from the famed, hidden treasures of Windless Cay. Kylo had heard tales of the island for years, long before he had taken command of his ship and acquired a crew - and he’s finally decided it was time to begin the search. 

He leaned back against the plush, tufted leather of his wide, wingback chair and lifted his long fingers to run them over the knot at the back of his head and through the dark waves that hung to his shoulders. Rolling his back and cracking his neck, the captain let out a low groan as he stretched, eager to rid his body of the day he’d spent tucked away. 

What he needed now was to feel the salty, sea air caress his face and tug at his shirt with invisible hands. He could close his eyes against the delicious sting and imagine it to be the kiss of a beautiful lass...but there was one thing he needed first. 

Splaying his large hands out across the chart that was held down by brass weights, Kylo brought himself to his feet and wandered to a small table at the back of the captain’s quarters that overlooked the endless span of horizon spread out at the stern. 

Letting his body naturally follow the sway of the ship, Kylo curled his long fingers around the neck of a stout, dark bottle. The collection of rings and jewels that adorned his hand clinked against the thick glass as he lifted it from it’s home on the table to bring it to his plush lips. He grasped the cork between his imperfect teeth and pulled it from the opening with a satisfying _pop_. 

He couldn’t help the smile that climbed from the corners of his mouth as the sweet smell of the nectar of the gods washed over him in an instant. Just the slightest whiff, and Kylo’s mouth began to water. 

With his free hand, Kylo pulled a gleaming chalice from beside the bottle and blew any dust away that may have lingered inside. He ran his tongue across his lips hungrily as he tipped the bottle into the cup to pour the golden liquid inside when a distant _boom_ rang out in the distance.

More like thunder to the untrained ear, Kylo lifted his eyes to the thick panels of glass in his quarters, and his gaze was instantly drawn to the dark speck at their back. 

His blood began to boil, and the ruthless captain took hold as he burst out of his quarters and thundered onto the main deck.

“Mitaka!” Kylo bellowed for his first mate, “Report!”

A mousy man stumbled down the stairs, visibly shaken by his captain’s fury.

“They’ve run a shot across the bow, sir, and are gaining on us by the second!”

“Whoever they are, I’ll peel their skin like a mango if they make one mark on my ship.”

Another shot rang out into the quiet of the calm day. Kylo waited for the loud splash of a cannonball making contact with the water, but was met instead with a heavy lurch of _The Silencer_ and the sound of splintering wood.

“All hands! Bring her about and run out the guns! It’s time to show these weasels that they fucked with the wrong man,” Kylo barked out, his frown deepening as his crew jumped into action.

His black coat fluttered in the breeze as he climbed the stairs to the quarterdeck two at a time, giving a nod to the cabin boy as he accepted the wide-brimmed, black hat from him and placed it snugly over his dark hair.

“Captain on deck!” Mitaka called out as Kylo strode to the railing and tugged a spyglass from his belt.

“What colors does she fly?” Kylo pressed as he extended the looking glass to its full length.

“She does’na have any, sir.”

Kylo pressed his mouth into a firm line of frustration as he lifted the brass tool to his eye and focused on the ship that was gaining on them with each passing moment. Instant recognition washed over him like a dip in icy waters as his gaze traveled over the gleaming, golden figurehead and the matching railings that instantly caught the beams of sunlight and sent them shimmering into the heavens. The telltale color of the ship, a rare blue that matched the pristine waters of the most beautiful cays, was instantly recognizable to any sailor. Any man with sense would heave-to and weigh anchor as soon as she appeared on the horizon. Better to give up then fight a losing battle to the death.

But Kylo wasn’t really a man of much sense as far as a certain captain in these waters was concerned. 

Mitaka looked up at the captain expectantly and offered a nod of silent understanding before bellowing out to the crew,

“Gunners at the ready! Bring a spring upon her cable!”

Kylo’s dark eyes flashed towards his first mate, giving him a scorching gaze of warning before calling out, “Belay that order! Heave to, stow the guns, strike colors and run up the white flag!”

The crewman all stopped dead in their tracks for a moment, all eyes glued on Kylo in disbelief. Kylo stepped forward and gripped the dark, wooden railing and loomed darkly over them all with a look of pure fury in his eye.

“You best be following my orders or I’ll be feeding you to the fish, have no doubts about that!”

His gaze locked with the helmsman for a moment before the young lad quickly sprung into action, deftly spinning the wheel around to the starboard side. Kylo offered a proud nod before sliding the spyglass back into his belt and stepping down the stairs to the main deck.

He remained steady on his feet as _The Silencer_ was rocked again by another blast of cannon fire, now coming in quicker succession. Mitaka wobbled as he followed close behind, moments away from a level of pure panic.

“Are…are you certain, Captain? We’ll be taking on water if they don’t stop firing soon.”

“You best be hoisting that white flag, Mister Mitaka.”

The ship on their tail continued to pepper the water around them with rapid successions of cannon fire as the helmsman brought her about. Mere moments went by before their pursuers were well in view of the entire crew, and Kylo could have sworn he felt an eye in a spyglass focused on him. 

He sniffed and straightened his shoulders, the picture of the most fearsome and confident privateer of all seven seas, turning to his quartermaster with a cool smile.

“The ship is yours. If you need me, I’ll be in my quarters.”

“Sir?” The mousy man called out - but was only met by the captain’s back as he ducked through the door and out of the fray.

Kylo busied himself by returning to the open bottle of rum he’d made an appointment with earlier, finally pouring himself a glass of the golden liquid as the sound of voices outside his door grew louder. 

No sooner than the moment he brought the golden chalice to his mustachioed lips, Kylo heard a rapt knock at the door and the muffled voice of his jittery first mate.

“Captain Ren?”

“I’m busy at the moment, Mitaka.”

“Sir, she’ll be coming alongside and...and we’ll be being boarded. Shall we…attack? Take no quarter? You know...the usual?”

Kylo removed the wide-brimmed black hat from his dark hair and set it down on the wide, mahogany table. He settled himself into the large, tufted leather chair, absentmindedly playing with the red feather in his hat as he took a long drink of rum.

“None of those things, Mitaka. I’m expecting someone.” 

He sat in his quarters, casually drinking his rum, one deep drink after the other. As he poured another helping into the golden cup, Kylo heard the sound of sloshing water, and the shadow of another ship as she glided up alongside _The Silencer_. It was only moments before the cacophony jumble of voices started to grow, accompanied by the hard thump of boards landing along the railing of his ship. 

The thump of extra footfalls were carried along the hollow belly of the ship before the clatter of cutlasses hitting the deck covered any other noise. 

Kylo let out a long _whoosh_ of air from his lungs and lifted his black boots to casually perch them upon his table, mashing his lips into a thin line as a woman’s voice called out playfully. 

“Be gentle, lads. We don’t have time for too much of a ruckus. I shan’t be long.”

Kylo’s heart beat rapidly in his chest, but his demeanor remained as cool as could be when the door flew open, and nearly off its hinges, with a loud _bang_. He lifted his eyes to his guest with a cool, lopsided smile playing on his plush lips.

“Hello, wife.”

The woman standing in the doorway was clearly no one to be trifled with, standing firmly with the light at her back. Her chestnut hair gleamed from beneath her black hat in the halo of sunshine she was bathed in. Her hazel eyes narrowed as a fierce frown deepened on her golden, freckled face.

“Ren.”

Kylo’s smile only grew as he pulled his boots from the table and leaned forward on his elbows as he took another long drink of his rum.

“You know, blowing holes in my ship is a fine way to greet your husband.”

The woman in the doorway lifted the tip of her cutlass to the level of her eyes, inspecting the tip of the blade with her finger and a lift of her brow as it gleamed in the sunlight.

“You mean _MY_ ship.”

Their eyes met, and her face curled into a coy smile as she turned the cutlass and slid the blade into the scabbard that hung at her hip. She lifted her finger to grasp the silver embroidery on the brim of her black hat and lifted it from her chestnut hair. She kept her eyes locked with Kylo’s while she stepped forward, keeping a keen eye as he took another drink of his rum as she placed her hat atop his on the table.

“Kira…” he growled, somewhere between hunger and a warning as she reached up to pull the brown coat from her shoulders. 

“It’s been ages since I’ve seen you...” she mused as she gingerly folded the fabric and laid it over the back of an empty chair, “You don’t mind if I stay a while, do you? Since you’ve been so kind to surrender to me already.”

Kylo watched her as she circled around the broad table, letting his eyes travel down the length of her lithe body for only a moment so she wouldn’t notice him noticing her. Her hands skirted down the curve of her leather cinch belt as she straightened the wide baldric that hung over her shoulder. 

“It was only a white flag, I haven’t surrendered anything.”

“Haven’t you?” Kira hummed as she absentmindedly ran over fingers over the line of colorful beads that had been woven into the hair behind her ear. Her hands wandered to the chart spread out between them, letting the tips of her fingers linger on the marker that represented _The Silencer_ , “It’s only a matter of time before you do.”

Kylo rose from the chair and pulled himself to his full height as Kira skirted around the edge of the table and stepped up to him. He tried to keep his shoulders square and hold onto the mask of indifference as Kira closed the distance between them, but the sweet smell of jasmine and rose washed over him and held him positively spellbound. She was the sun - and he was caught in her orbit, helpless to do anything but follow once he’d been pulled in.

He swallowed thickly as Kira lifted her hand, heavy with glittering jewels on her fingers and golden bracelets on her wrists, and gently brushed her fingers against the wine colored fabric that covered his chest. She pushed the silken fabric to the side and brought her hand to rest against the beating of his heart. 

Lifting her hazel eyes to meet his, the smile grew on Kira’s sun-kissed face as she splayed her fingers out across the defined lines of muscle. There it was, that static...the intoxicating crackle that always appeared whenever they were together, come hell or high water. Her eyes glittered as his heart beat against her fingers, “Nervous, are we?”

Kylo let out a laugh, releasing some of the tension that had been building in his throat, leaning into her touch as he reached out to curl his long fingers around her waist. A breathless sigh slipped past Kira’s lips as Kylo gave a sharp tug and pulled her flush against him. He burrowed his nose in her hair and breathed in the smell of her deeply, nearly losing himself to the familiar feeling of their bodies molded together.

“Not in the slightest, sweetheart. Only eager to pick up where we left off.” 

Kira pushed with her palm and lifted her burning gaze to him with a coy smile, “This isn’t going to go the way you think.”

“Isn’t it, though?”

His dark eyes flickered down to her lips and back, and the ghost of a cocky smile began to tug at the corner of his mouth as he slowly leaned a little closer to bring his mouth down to hers. Just as his plush lips began to brush hers, Kylo felt a hard shove against his chest that sent him stumbling back into his wingback chair.

Kira acted quickly, tossing the long hem of her coat and her cutlass behind her as she seamlessly climbed into his lap. Kylo let out a low groan as she nestled her leather-clad knees on either side of his lap, and the heat of her instantly seeped through to his skin. His brain screamed at him to stop, to remove himself from her intoxicating spell - but no matter how much his thoughts tried to pull him away, his body sang a different tune.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world, like the two of them were made to fit together...matching puzzle pieces molded by the gods, she the lock and him the key. One turn and he would give her anything she asked.

Kira pressed herself against his chest, reaching up to tangle her fingers in his dark hair, freeing it from the small knot tied at the back of his head. The feeling of her hands in his hair elicited an animalistic groan tumbling from his plush lips. A fire burned within him, and Kylo suddenly found himself parched with a thirst that no drink would ever satisfy...only Kira. She rolled her hips against him, like she knew _exactly_ what she was doing to him - and she was relentless in her pursuit of drawing each hiss of his breath and shudder of his shoulders. 

With a single brush of her lips against the long column of his throat, Kylo nearly felt his resistance crumble completely as a lance of pure pleasure ricocheted through his body. Tension coiled like a wire deep in his belly as he helplessly responded to her every movement. 

“Kira…” he mumbled as she continued to rock her pelvis against him suggestively. 

“Kylo,” she breathed, running the tip of her nose up his neck to his ear to capture the soft lobe between her teeth, “You know I can take whatever I want.”

Kylo curled his arms around her waist, sliding his hands over the curve of her hips to palm her ass, thankful that the trousers she wore hugged every delectable inch like a second skin. He pulled her closer and buried his mouth in the valley of her collarbones and called out to her between molten kisses.

“What is it? I’ll give you anything.”

He devoured every inch of her luminous skin, letting the heady scent of her wash over him as she languorously squirmed against him over and over again. 

“Where is it?” Kira breathed, easing her body along his.

“”What?” Kylo mumbled against the silken flesh at her throat, exploring every inch of her like he had discovered a map to the famed treasure that he longed to find.

“The key...where is my key?”

His mouth continued to wander, savoring every taste as his lips travelled up the elegant line of her throat. 

“I don’t have it anymore,” he mumbled against her flesh, letting his hands wander with his mouth, slipping up to hug the curve of her breast and pull the silken fabric aside to let her fall free. He groaned at the sight of her, and gingerly ran the pad of his thumb over her rosy nipple, smiling to himself as the sensitive flesh pebbled at his touch. 

“What do you mean, you don’t have it anymore?” Kira whimpered as Kylo devoured the supple flesh of her breast.

“I lost it. Ducane wiped me out playing One and Thirty.”

His grin grew as he went to dive back into the meal he had been enjoying, but immediately halted when he heard the sound of metal against leather, and felt the sharp prick of a blade at his throat. Palms instinctually raised to the air, Kylo leaned away from Kira and pressed his back against the chair. 

Kira’s eyes were ablaze, hair mussed as she pulled the silk shirt back up the curve of her shoulder, keeping the point of her dagger against his flesh all the while.

“What. Do you mean. You _lost_ it...in a kriffing game?”

Kylo let out a laugh, remembering in the back of his mind that Kira herself was the one who taught him how to play...poorly. Like she knew what he was thinking, Kira pressed the blade more firmly against his throat, the look in her eyes growing darker by the second. Kylo’s grin melted away, and his laughter quickly died as he cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows with a silent plea for her to loosen her grip.

“I...I can get it back. I just need some time. I’ll go to Tortuga and get it back, and meet you in San Salvador in a fortnight.”

Kira glared at him for a moment before bursting into wild peals of laughter, throwing her head back as she pulled her dagger away from his skin. Kylo nervously laughed along with her, apprehensive to believe that he would be free from the sting of her blade for long. He kept a close watch on her demeanor as she freed herself from her perch in his lap. The flesh at his throat stung with the ghost of her knife, and his body ached from the loss of the heat from her cunt pressed against him. 

“You’re a daft fool if you think I’m going to trust you to fetch it on your own when you’re the tosser who lost it. I would bet a whole coffer of dubloons that I’d find you holed up in a brothel, with _no key_ at the end of that fortnight. Mark me.”

“You gave it to _me_ if I'm remembering correctly, poppet,” Kylo snidely pressed, the curl of his sure-fire grin appearing once more as he stood from his chair. Kira glared at him and snatched up her brown coat from the table before stuffing her arms in the sleeves, “And you know I wouldn’t be caught dead in a brothel. There’s only one lass I’d have in my bed.”

“You’re better than me,” Kira’s face melted into a devilish grin. A growl rumbled deep in his chest as he took a heavy step forward, his arms capturing her against the wooden table. His face mere inches away, Kira’s breath caught in her throat as he pressed his long fingers along the edge of her jaw and dragged the pad of his thumb hungrily across her bottom lip.

“You know what that does to me….” His dark eyes flickered to her parted lips for an instant before devouring her mouth, stealing the moan that instantly escaped her. It was over just as quickly as it began, leaving the pirate queen breathless and blinking in the dim light, “...but am I still the only man you’ve had?”

“Y-yes…”

A single sentence was all it took, and suddenly every pretense fell away...the pirate queen and fearsome caption melted into nothing, leaving behind only Kira and Kylo. Their mouths crashed together, filled with a raw intensity, an intense need to be closer...for more. 

Their lips roved over each others, ferocious and demanding. Kylo pressed his tongue over the seam of her lips, and Kira responded by pure instinct, parting them to let him delve inside. She hummed against him as the all to familiar taste of him, and the sweet scent of old rum invaded her senses. Reaching up to tangle her hands in his long hair, she arched her body into his broad chest as Kylo pulled the coat from her shoulders and tossed it to the floor in a heap. 

The good captain dove down to feast on the delectable skin in the valley of her collarbones once more, tearing at the silken fabric of her shirt to let her breasts fall free. Kira captured her bottom lip with a groan as Kylo coaxed sound after musical sound from her mouth as he teased the pebbled flesh of her rosy nipple with his tongue, claiming every inch of her golden skin for his own pleasure...and hers. 

As Kira writhed beneath Kylo’s deft touch, her hands wandered, pushing his own black coat from his impossibly broad shoulders as she let her fingers linger against the hard planes of muscle in his chest. She let her hands glide over the wine colored fabric with a lyrical hum while she twisted her fingers into the sash at his waist. 

Kylo lifted his dark eyes to hers, releasing her breast from his lips with a delectable _pop_. Kira practically purred as he curled his long fingers around her waist and pulled her against him - and flesh met flesh.

“I thought you were angry with me,” he growled as his mouth went back to exploring the tender flesh at her neck, “You said you were never going to forgive me.”

“I am,” Kira hissed, practically melting like ice cream in the bright Caribbean sunshine, “and I won’t. This is different...this...this is…oh _gods_ …”

Kylo sunk to his knees, tearing at the button on her trousers and sinking his wide hands beneath the waistband to palm the curve of her ass and push the fabric to the floor. Kira’s back arched with anticipation, knowing where his hands would travel next. 

He curled his long fingers around her waist and lifted her to the table, sending the brass weights flying to the wooden planks on the floor with a bang. Splaying his hand out on her chest, Kylo pressed and slowly laid Kira to the table, leaving a trail of molten kisses as he travelled down her body.

“You said you could take whatever you want, Kira...and I want to give it to you.” Kylo growled as he sank to her core. All at once, she was writhing and squirming atop the meticulously hand drawn charts as Kylo was all fingers and tongue, simultaneously, lifting his eyes from her sex to watch her every reaction, “What is it that you want? Tell me…”

Kira was practically boneless as Kylo worked her, drawing a sweet melody of moans from her lips over and over as she arched her back from the table, hurtling towards the precipice at a dizzying speed. Kira felt herself getting closer and closer as Kylo leisurely circled her bud with the tip of his long nose.

“You! _Fuck_ I want you, Kylo. _Please._ ”

She could feel his grin against her sex as she cried out into the dim light of his quarters before he rose back up from the depths, languously leavaing a trail of molten kisses over the expanse of her freckled flesh. He gathered her up in his long arms, pressing her against his chest as he placed the sweetest of kisses against her lips.

“As you wish, _my queen._ ”

In a single, fluid motion, Kylo buried himself deep inside her, sheathing himself to the hilt as the pair of them moaned together in unison. He stilled himself for a moment, taking the time to revel in the delicious sensation of her walls quaking around him, hardly believing that this resplendent woman in his arms had given herself to him...and only him. Who was he to deserve the love...or lust of his queen?

WIth a growl that began deep in his broad chest, Kylo began to move, changing the rhythm of Kira’s breathless whimpers with every thrust. The melody of their shuddering breaths and fervent cries were intertwined together in a blessed harmony with the sound of the water between the broadside of their ships - all joined together with the sun, the sea, and them.

The fading afternoon light streamed in through the wall of windows at his back as Kylo relentlessly pursued her pleasure and his own, chasing the electric feeling of their shared release like the blessed sight of land on the horizon after months lost at sea. Kylo let his hands wander, splaying his fingers out across her breasts as they continued to rock together in perfect synchronicity, marveling how her flesh appeared to be a treasure all its own, a luminescent amber in the delicate strands of light that painted her so. 

Things had changed between them after...after everything...and Kylo had been terrified that he would never be able to experience the feeling of their bodies molded together like they were always meant to be. Yet, here they were, like nothing had ever changed, and the time they’d spent apart had been completely meaningless. 

Kira trailed her fingers up the broad planes of his beauty mark speckled chest, capturing the edge of his jaw easily in her hands. With one look, Kylo knew he was putty between them, moldable to whatever she would ask of him. He let out a shuddering gasp at what he found behind the flecks of golden greens in her eyes...the ghost of what was. 

In that split second, Kylo could feel her love, whether it held true afterwards or not...there it was in that moment. A moment that he would tuck away into the back of his mind, to dust off on the darkest of nights when he was in need of her mesmerizing light. 

What had been was now broken, but here and now, Kira and Kylo found their souls mingling together in the quiet lulls between actions as they caught their breaths, taking turns running their fingers over each inch of their exposed flesh...eager to dedicate every minute to memory. 

Kylo leaned his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged as he dragged his lip plush lips up her temple to place a lingering kiss against her sun kissed skin. With a low sigh, he curled his arm around her waist and slowly rocked into her, desperate to find the willpower to hold back just a little, no matter how ravenous for her he was. He didn’t know when this would happen again or if it was just a fever dream, destined to fade away like the sight of Fata Morgana on the horizon. 

He had to hold on to it...on to her... for as long as he could, and stay lost between the intoxication of their climax and prolonging the fisherman’s net they’d been caught in that they never wanted to end. 

Kylo wrapped his arms around her, tangling his long fingers in her chestnut hair as she met him thrust for thrust with a shiver. His mouth meandered over her face, eager to devour the quiet mewls of pleasure as she writhed and squirmed in the confines of his arms as she chased her release. 

“Kira,” he groaned, ready to reverently chant her name with each pulsing lance of desire that ricocheted through his body, coiling the scorching hot wire in his belly tighter and tighter with each passing second, “Kira… _please…stay…_ ”

Their eyes met again, and for a split second, the pirate queen was gone and the girl he knew oh so long ago looked back at him. She blinked back the shine of unshed tears, letting a single silvery thread slip past her black eyelashes. The glimpse of the girl disappeared just as quickly as she appeared when Kira wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled his mouth down to meet hers for a fiery kiss. It was demanding and generous all at once as she pulled him closer to drag her pink tongue across the seam of his mouth, tangling it in a wild dance of tongues and teeth. 

She never spoke a word to answer him, instead letting her body do the talking. They always seemed so much better that way, wrapped up in each other’s arms, communicating in ways that their words so hopelessly failed. They followed the course they plotted, lost to the other with a symphony of her breathless whimpers tangled with his deep growls until, together, they tumbled over the precipice together. 

Kylo held her close to his chest as she practically deflated in his arms, positively boneless from the tidal wave they’d found themselves riding until they reached the shore as one. He peppered her face with fervent kisses, memorizing the feeling of her flushed skin beneath his lips. 

“You’re better than I remember…” Kira breathed against his shoulder, practically vibrating and positively radiant from the delectable feast she’d just enjoyed. She caught his mouth and kissed him until they were both breathless and nearly ready to begin again. Kylo’s plush lips roved against hers, capturing the curve of her bottom lip between his teeth with a smile.

“That was only the appetizer, darling,” he growled, twining the silken, chestnut ribbons of her hair around his long fingers, “I’d like the opportunity to provide you with a seven course meal.”

“Oh, would you?” Kira purred, snaking her hands over the broad curve of his shoulders to pull him closer, dragging her teeth across the constellation of beauty marks she found there.

“Mmm...only the best for my queen.”

Kylo nipped at her lip again, coaxing a whimper from between them as his hands wandered down her back to the laces in the leather waist cincher she wore. Twining the cord around his long finger, the good captain began to pull it loose when the door burst open. 

Their combined fury was palpable as their eyes swivelled to the intruder who unceremoniously yanked them from the feverous worship of each other. Kylo’s wide-eyed first mate stood frozen and flabbergasted in the glow of the light seeping in through the cabin door, completely unsure what he was supposed to do next.

“Get the fuck out, Mitaka, before I have your guts for garters!” Kira barked out as she turned her attention back to Kylo. She lifted her fingers to softly trail them along the jagged scar that bisected his cheek, letting out a soft sigh as her gaze shifted back to meet his. For a split second, he saw the glimmer of that girl looking back at him again...and the woman he loved as she offered him a faraway smile. Hidden in the depths of green and gold, Kylo saw her fire, an endless flame that burned for so much more than herself. It burned for a different life...for a family she had never known and created for herself. Kylo found himself holding his breath as they regarded each other for one last time before they went back to what things had become...to see the real her was a gift he would hold on to. It lasted for merely a moment before she blinked, and the pirate queen was in her place. 

Kira laughed softly as her fingers lingered on the scar before letting her hands drift down to pull her shirt back up over her shoulders. 

“What a day that was....” she mused as she pulled her body away from his and slipped off the table to the floor. She made quick progress, all business as she fastened her trousers at her waist and pulled on her brown coat. Her coy smile grew when her eyes met his again as she straightened her leather baldric, “I pray your skills have improved.”

A chuckle rumbled deep in Kylo’s chest as he righted his own clothing and reached up to tie his hair back into the half-knot at the back of his head.

“I’d be happy to show you…”

Kira’s grin melted away as she reached for the silver-brimmed hat on the table, holding it in her hands as she played with the red and blue macaw feather tucked into the band.

“Is that a challenge?”

“It is if you want it to be,” Kylo pressed, taking a heavy step forward to close the distance she’d created between them.

“You’d lose… _again_ , Ren. Are you ready for that? Are you ready for me to leave my mark on you again?”

A playful, crooked smile played on Kylo’s lips as he reached to pull her hand from the feather, lifting it slowly to his mouth while his dark eyes burned into hers. He pressed a slow, molten kiss to her palm, drawing a sharp breath tumbling from her lips.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing, Majesty. I’d wear it like a badge of honor. _Yours._ For the whole of the Caribbean to see.”

Kira lifted a brow with a roll of her eyes, plopping down into Kylo’s favorite chair to pull on her boots. 

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s likely...but I wouldn’t mind a spar sometime,” Kira mused as she yanked on the other boot and let her foot fall with a _thud_ on the wooden planks at her feet as she pulled herself to her feet with a determined look in her eye, “ _After_ we get the key.”

“Pardon?” Kylo countered, casually leaning against a wide beam next to the stained glass windows at his back, “I could have sworn you just said _we_. I didn’t realize that this was a joint venture.”

Kira strode over to the collection of dark glass bottles, curling her delicate fingers around the neck of one to lift it to her lips and pull the cork out with a _pop_. Kylo gave an exasperated growl and pushed off the beam to sidle up next to her as she took a long swig from the bottle. The pirate queen’s face melted into a childlike pout when he pulled the bottle unceremoniously from her lips, leaving a bit of rum to spill over her chin and down her chest. 

Kylo swallowed thickly, ignoring the burning coil in his belly that flickered to life all over again as he watched the sweet, golden nectar trail down her sun kissed skin. In his mind, he’d put down the bottle and drink from her instead, languorously lapping up the precious liquid as it seeped further down her body. He’d make it his mission to make sure that it wouldn’t go to waste.

Clearing his throat loudly, Kylo brought his attention back to the task at hand, lifting a cup with his long fingers as he poured his queen a glass. Kira brought it to her lips and quickly tossed it back as soon as he passed it to her, silently and expectantly holding out the cup for him to pour her another.

Kylo acquiesced to her request, eager to please her as he filled it to the brim. Hazel met molten amber as she sipped it slowly, the corners of her mouth pulling into a facetious smile.

“We’ll leave presently. I hope that lad Mitaka isn’t a Yellow Jack, I’m not sure how long I’ll be in possession of his captain,” She tossed back the remainder of her drink and slammed the empty cup onto the wooden surface, “Come on, poppet. I have a breeze to catch and a key to fetch. I am a busy woman, and don’t have time to flounder about on my voyage.”

Kylo watched her for a moment, unable to help the crooked smile from growing from the corners of his wide mouth as she pressed the silver-banded, black hat onto her chestnut hair and strode around the table to the door of the captain’s quarters. 

In a single, fluid motion, Captain Ren sprung into action, vaulting himself over the disarranged charts and off-kilter weights on the table to land on his feet and slide between Kira and the door just as she reached for the handle.

“ _Your_ voyage? Sweetheart, I think you’ve got your ropes crossed. This is _my_ ship, it was _my_ game…”

“Yes, that _you_ lost.”

Kylo pressed forward, spinning his queen around in his arms to close her in against the door. He looked like he could take her again right then and there, eager to devour the sounds he was sure she’d make. He leaned his head down to brush his lips against the line of her ear, letting the deep rumble of his gravelly voice caress the tender flesh.

“...I am the one who knows where it is. I am in command of this here voyage.”

Kira pulled away with a devilish smirk on her face growing by the second. Kylo was sure she was either about to kiss him or put her dagger to his throat again. She did neither...instead, she took a deep breath with a smile.

“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you? Such a sweet man...it’s a pity you’re not as clever as I thought you to be.”

Kylo blinked and suddenly the world was bright and the salty sea air was caressing his face as Kira pulled the latch and sent him tumbling onto the main deck in front of his crew. As he scrambled to his feet with a scowl, he watched the pirate queen flash him a wink as she curled a rope around her wrist and swung effortlessly from _The Silencer_ to the _Corazon de Casa_. 

He stood frozen on the deck, his eyes glued to her as he stayed enraptured by her tenacity and the brazen way she went about her life. Kira lifted her hat from her head and gave a small bow as her grin grew wider.

“I’ll be waiting, Master Ren, but I don’t have all day!”

He gave her an exasperated smile and a mock salute, but the truth was, Kylo would follow Kira anywhere, for he was merely a sailor...but she was the brightest star in the north - and he would follow her to the ends of the earth if he had to.

**Author's Note:**

> And now we are off on a brand-new adventure and I cannot begin to describe how excited I am about this one. The biggest thank you to my incredible Beta and Force-Bonded twinsie, MyJediLife for saying the exact right few words to spawn this incredible idea.


End file.
